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State Department Fact Sheet on North Korea Six Party Talks, 10
May 2008
Fact Sheet, Office of the Spokesman, Washington, DC, 10 May
2008.
Update on the Six-Party Talks
Latest News
- On May 8 in Pyongyang, the DPRK provided approximately 18,000
pages of documentation related to its nuclear programs to a U.S.
government delegation led by Sung Kim, Director of the State
Department's Office of Korean Affairs.
- These documents were provided as part of the Six-Party Talks,
the goal of which is the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula in a peaceful manner. This goal was stated in the
September 19, 2005 Joint Statement of the Six Parties.
- The DPRK has stated that the documentation provided May 8
consists of operating records for the five-megawatt reactor
[5-MW(e)] and fuel reprocessing plant at the Yongbyon nuclear
complex, where the DPRK had produced its stock of weapons-grade
plutonium.
- These operating records date back to 1986 and are expected to
cover reactor operations and all three reprocessing campaigns
undertaken by North Korea.
- These documents will be examined thoroughly by a team of U.S.
verification and other experts.
Declaration, Verification
- The United States and the other parties continue to press the
DPRK to fulfill its declaration commitment under the October 3,
2007 agreement.
- Review of the operating records provided on May 8 will be an
important first step in the process of verifying that North Korea's
declaration is complete and correct.
- We are working with the Chinese and our other partners to
establish verification and monitoring mechanisms to ensure that all
parties, including the DPRK, are living up to their
commitments.
Disablement of Yongbyon
- The DPRK shut down and sealed the Yongbyon nuclear facility in
July 2007, in accordance with the February 13, 2007 Six-Party
agreement on "Initial Actions for the Implementation of the Joint
Statement."
- The DPRK agreed in the February 13, 2007 agreement on "Initial
Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement" to shut down
all its existing nuclear facilities, beginning with the core
facilities at the Yongbyon nuclear complex by December 31,
2007.
- The Yongbyon nuclear complex houses the three core facilities
of North Korea's plutonium program: the 5-MW(e) reactor,
reprocessing facility, and fuel fabrication facility.
- These facilities were operating until they were shut down in
July 2007 as part of the Six-Party process.
- In addition, North Korea invited back IAEA personnel to monitor
and verify the shutdown and sealing of these facilities.
- The DPRK subsequently agreed in the October 3, 2007 agreement
on "Second-Phase Actions for the Implementation of the Joint
Statement" that it would disable all its existing nuclear
facilities, beginning with the core facilities at Yongbyon.
- Since November 2007, U.S. experts have been on the ground at
Yongbyon continuously, overseeing disablement activities.
- Eight out of 11 agreed disablement activities at the three core
facilities have been completed. Work on disablement activities
continues.
- U.S. experts currently are overseeing the discharge of the
spent fuel rods from the 5-MW(e) reactor. As of mid-May, more than
one-third of the spent fuel rods have been discharged
successfully.
- These actions have halted the DPRK's ability to produce
additional weapons-grade plutonium for its nuclear weapons
program.
- The United States remains committed to the full implementation
of the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement of the Fourth Round of
the Six-Party Talks, which unanimously reaffirmed that the goal of
the Six-Party Talks is the verifiable denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner.
Source: US Department of State, www.state.gov.
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